Professional Documents
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Bud Myanmar PDF
Bud Myanmar PDF
A Short History
by Roger Bischoff
e
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Roger Bischoff
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Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Shan Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
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7
Preface
8
satisfied with the result. This booklet does not pretend
to be an academic work shedding new light on the
subject. It is designed, rather, to provide the interested
non-academic reader with a brief overview of the
subject.
9
again and again from the outside until Myanmar had
matured to the point of becoming one of the main
shrines where the Theravàda Buddhist teachings are
preserved. The religion did not develop in Myanmar.
Rather, the Myanmar people developed through the
religion until the Theravàda faith became embedded in
their culture and Pàli Buddhism became second nature
to them.
Roger Bischoff
10
Chapter 1
Earliest Contacts with Buddhism
11
today their influence and language is limited to remote
areas of the south.
12
The Region
13
nature worship or animism, still found today among
the more remote tribes of the region.
14
country that had formerly belonged to them.2 This
Mon tale confirms the theory that Indian people had
formed the first communities in the region but that
these were eventually replaced by the Mon with the
development of their own civilisation. As well as the
Indian trading settlements, there were also some Pyu
settlements, particularly in the area of Prome where a
flourishing civilisation later developed.
15
the Sakyans were a Mongolian rather than an Indo-
Aryan race, and that the Buddha’s clansmen were
derived from Mongolian stock.
16
There are many instances in the history of Southeast
Asian tribes in which a conquering people incorporates
into its own traditions not only the civilisation of the
conquered, but also their clan gods, royal lineage, and
thereby their history. This fact would explain the visits
of the Buddha to Thaton and Shwesettaw in the Mon
and Myanmar oral tradition, and the belief of the
Arakanese that the Buddha visited their king and left
behind an image of himself for them to worship.
Modern historiography will, of course, dismiss these
stories as fabrications made out of national pride, as
the Myanmar had not even arrived in the region at the
time of the Buddha. However, it is possible that the
Myanmar and Arakanese integrated into their own
lore the oral historical tradition of their Indian prede-
cessors. This does not prove that the visits really took
place, but it seems a more palatable explanation of the
existence of these accounts than simply putting them
down to historical afterthought of a Buddhist people
eager to connect itself with the origins of their religion.
17
the arrival of the hair relics in Ukkalà (Yangon) soon
after the Buddha’s enlightenment.
18
enshrined the three hairs in a stupa which is now the
great Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.
19
The Buddha’s Visits to the Region
20
Buddha.8 Having won faith in the Buddha and the
Teachings, he took ordination as a bhikkhu. After
sometime, he asked the Buddha to teach him a short
lesson so that he could return to Sunàparanta and
strive for arahatship. The Buddha warned him that
the people of Sunàparanta were fierce and violent,
but Puõõa replied that he would not allow anger to
arise, even if they should kill him. In the Puõõovàda
Sutta, the Buddha instructed him not to be enticed
by that which is pleasant, and Puõõa returned and
attained arahatship in his country. He won over
many disciples and built a monastery of red sandal-
wood for the Buddha (according to some chronicles
of Myanmar, the Buddha made the prediction that at
the location where the red sandalwood monastery
was, the great king Alaungsithu of Pagan would
build a shrine). He then sent flowers as an invitation
to the Buddha and the Buddha came accompanied by
five hundred arahats, spent the night in the monas-
tery, and left again before dawn.9
8. See entry ‘Puõõa’ in G.P. Malalasekera, A Dictionary of Pàli Proper
Names (PTS 1937-38).
9. The Sàsanavaüsa says the Buddha stayed for seven weeks and
converted eighty-four thousand beings to the Dhamma.
21
Sàkka, the king of the thirty-three devas living in the
Tavatiüsa plane, provided five hundred palanquins for
the bhikkhus accompanying the Buddha on the
journey to Sunàparanta. But only 499 of the
palanquins were occupied. One of them remained
empty until the ascetic Saccabandha, who lived on the
Saccabandha mountain in central Myanmar, joined the
Buddha and the 499 bhikkhus accompanying him. On
the way to Sunàparanta, the Buddha stopped in order
to teach the ascetic Saccabandha. When Saccabanda
attained arahatship, he then joined the Buddha and
completed the total of 500 bhikkhus who usually
travelled with the Master.
22
of the Saccabandha mountain.10 These footprints, still
visible today, were worshipped by the Mon, Pyu, and
Myanmar kings alike and have remained among the
holiest places of pilgrimage in Myanmar. In the
fifteenth century, after the decimation of the
population through the Siamese campaigns, knowledge
of the footprints was lost. Then, in the year 1638, King
Thalun sent learned bhikkhus to the region;
fortuitously, they were able to relocate the Buddha’s
footprints. Since then Shwesettaw, the place where the
footprints are found, has once again become an
important place of pilgrimage in Myanmar. And in the
dry season thousands of devout Buddhists travel there
to pay respects.
23
the Mahàmuni image was enshrined and worshipped.
The story of the Mahàmuni image, at one time one of
the most revered shrines of Buddhism, is told in the
Sappadanapakaraõa, a work of a local historian.
24
earth supports them, (8) the employment of prudent
commanders, (9) the taking of good counsel, and
(10) the avoidance of pride. The Buddha remained for
a week and on preparing for his departure the king
requested that he leave an image of himself, so that
they could worship him even in his absence. The
Buddha consented to this and Sàkka the king of the
gods himself formed the image with the metals
collected by the king and his people. It was completed
in one week and when the Buddha breathed onto it the
people exclaimed that now there were indeed two
Buddhas, so alike was the image to the great sage.
Then the Buddha made a prophesy addressing the
image: “I shall pass into Nibbàna in my eightieth year,
but you will live for five thousand years which I have
foreseen as the duration of my Teaching.”
25
king, as it was one of the most sacred objects in the
region. The king himself went out of his city to meet
the approaching image with great devotion and
“through the long colonnades leading to the pagoda,
there used to come daily from the Myanmar palace, so
long as a king reigned there, sumptuous offerings
borne in stately procession, marshalled by a minister
and shaded by the white umbrella.”11
26
When the thera Moggaliputta, the illuminator of the
religion of the Conqueror, had brought the (third)
council to an end and when, looking into the future,
he had beheld the founding of the religion in
adjacent countries, then in the month of Katthika he
sent forth theras, one here and one there. The thera
Majjhantika he sent to Kasmãra and Gandhàra, the
thera Mahàdeva he sent to Mahisamaõóala. To
Vanavàsa he sent the thera named Rakkhita, and to
Aparantaka the Yona named Dhammarakkhita; to
Mahàrattha he sent the thera named
Mahàdhammarakkhita, but the thera Mahàrakkhita
he sent into the country of the Yona. He sent the
thera Majjhima to the Himàlaya country and
together with the thera Uttara, the thera Soõa of
wondrous might went to Suvaõõabhåmi….12
27
of the Shan tribes; and Suvaõõabhåmi is Thaton. The
Sàsanavaüsa mentions five places in Southeast Asia
where Asoka’s missionaries taught the Buddha’s
doctrine, and through their teaching many gained
insight and took refuge in the Triple Gem. There are
two interesting features mentioned in the text. First, in
order to ordain nuns, bhikkhunãs, other bhikkhunãs
had to be present, and secondly, the Brahmajàla Sutta
was preached in Thaton.
28
The fact that Soõa and Uttara chose this Sutta to
convert the inhabitants of Suvaõõabhåmi indicates
that they were facing a well-informed public, familiar
with the views of Brahmanism that were refuted by the
Buddha in this discourse. There can be no doubt that
only Indian colonisers, not the Mon, would have been
able to follow an analysis of Indian philosophy as
profound as the Brahmajàla Sutta.
29
Chapter 2
Buddhism in the Mon
and Pyu Kingdoms
The Mon
30
Buddhism. In the same inscription, missions to other
countries such as Sri Lanka are mentioned. It is
generally believed that most of these countries had
received earlier Buddhist missionaries sent by
Buddhist kings, but as civilisation in these lands was
relatively undeveloped, teachings as profound as the
Buddha’s had probably become distorted by local
religions or possibly been completely lost. It is possible
that these missions did not so much re-establish
Buddhism, but rather purify the type of Buddhism
practised there. Southern India was then the guardian
of the Theravàda faith and obviously remained in
contact with countries that had been converted in
earlier times but were unable to preserve the purity of
the religion.
31
we cannot remain in Myanmar only. For only by
studying the entire sphere of influence of the Mon in
this period, can a comprehensive picture be
constructed. This sphere includes large parts of present
day Thailand. In fact, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim,
Yuan Chwang, who travelled to India in about 630 ad,
describes a single Mon country stretching from Prome
to Chenla in the east and including the Irrawaddy and
Sittang deltas. He calls the country Dvàravatã, but the
annals of the court of China of the same period
mention Dvàravatã as a vassal of Thaton. We can,
therefore, safely conclude that the Mon of the region
formed a fairly homogenous group in which the
distribution of power was obviously not always evident
to the outsider.
The Pyu
32
ers of the Theravàda Buddhist faith. Chinese travellers’
reports of the mid-third century ad refer to the king-
dom of Lin-Yang where Buddha was venerated by all
and where several thousand monks or bhikkhus lived.
As Lin-Yang was to the west of Kamboja13 and could
not be reached by sea, we can infer that the Chinese
travellers must have been referring to the ancient king-
dom of Prome. This is all the more likely as archaeo-
logical finds prove that only about one century later
Pàli Buddhist texts, including Abhidhamma texts, were
studied by the Pyu.
33
the great Buddhist centre of southern India. It is situ-
ated near a stupa and a shrine, a design which is iden-
tical to the one used in South India. Bricks had been
used by the Pyus since the second century ad for the
construction of pillared halls, which formed the tem-
ples of their original religion. Interestingly, the Pyu
bricks have always been of the exact dimensions as
those used at the time of Emperor Asoka in India. But
the brick laying techniques used in the monastery in
Beikthano were far inferior to the ones used in their
southern Indian counterparts.
34
indicate that indigenous architects and artisans, rather
than imported craftsmen or Indian colonisers, were
employed in the construction of monasteries and other
important buildings.
35
century, with the development of religious activity in
the region, information becomes more substantive.
The historical tradition of Myanmar gives the credit for
this religious resurgence to a well-known Buddhist
scholar, âcariya Buddhaghosa.
36
doubt his existence.14 Despite this contention, Eliot, in
his Hinduism and Buddhism, gives more weight to
circumstantial evidence and writes:
37
Lanka, he is also credited with imbuing new life into
Theravàda Buddhism in South India, and developing
such important centres as Ka¤cipura and Uragapuram
that were closely connected with Prome and Thaton.
Proof of this connection can be found in archeological
finds in the environs of Prome which include Pàli
literature inscribed in the Kadambe script on gold and
stone plates. This script was used in the fifth and sixth
century in southern India.
38
The Mon kingdoms are mentioned in travel reports of
several Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and also in the
annals of the Chinese court. In the fifth century,
Thaton and Pegu (Pago) are mentioned in the
Buddhist commentarial literature for the first time.16
They were now firmly established on the map as
Buddhist centres of learning. Despite this, Buddhism
was not without rivals in the region. This is shown, by
the following event some chronicles of Myanmar
mention.
39
trample her,while the fire of her pyre would not burn
her. Eventually the king, intrigued by these events,
asked the girl to perform a miracle. He stated that, if
she was able to make a Buddha image produce seven
new images and then make all eight statues fly into
heaven, she would be set free. The girl spoke an act of
truth, and the eight Buddha statues flew up into the
sky. The king was then converted to Buddhism and
elevated the girl to the position of chief queen.
17. Cf. L.P. Briggs, Dvàravatã, the most ancient kingdom of Siam
(JAOS, 65, 1945), p. 98.
40
avàda Buddhist culture of the Mon flourished in both
Dvàravatã and Thaton. However, the Mon civilisation
in Thailand did not survive the onslaught of the Khmer
in the eleventh century who were worshipping Hindu
gods. In Myanmar, the Mon kingdom was conquered
by Pagan. The Myanmar were eager to accept the Mon
culture and especially their religion, while the Khmer,
as Hindus, at best tolerated it.
41
excerpts from the Abhidhamma and the other two
baskets of the Buddhist scriptures. The scripts in all
these documents are identical to scripts used in parts
of southern India, and can be dated from the third to
the sixth century ad.
42
The inscriptions show how highly developed
scholarship of the Pàli Buddhist texts must have been
in Lower Myanmar even in these early days. Learning
had gone well beyond the basics into the world of
Abhidhamma studies. Pàli was obviously well known
as a language of learning, but unfortunately no
original texts composed in Sri Ksetra or Thaton have
come down to us. Interestingly, some of the texts
inscribed on these gold plates are not identical to the
same canonical texts as they are known today.
Therefore, the Tipiñaka known to the Pyu must have
been replaced by a version preserved in a country that
had no close contact with the Pyu. This could well
have been Sri Lanka, as this country came to play an
important role in the history of Buddhism in Myanmar
through the friendship between the conqueror of
Lower Myanmar, Anawratha, and the king who drove
the Hindus from Sri Lanka, Vijayabàhu.
43
astronomical calculations. They are Buddhists and
have a hundred monasteries, with brick of glass
embellished with gold and silver vermilion, gay
colours and red kino…. At seven years of age the
people cut their hair and enter a monastery; if at the
age of twenty they have not grasped the doctrine they
return to the lay state.”18
18. Parker, Burma with special reference to the relations with China
(Rangoon 1893), p. 12.
44
Chapter 3
Theravàda Buddhism Comes to Pagan
45
found its way into the region from the Pàla kingdom in
Bengal. This is apparent from bronze statues depicting
Bodhisattas and especially the “Lokanàtha,” a
Bodhisatta believed, in Bengal, to reign in the period
between the demise of the Buddha Gotama and the
advent of the Buddha Metteyya. Anawratha continued
to cast terracotta votive tablets with the image of
Lokanàtha even after he embraced the Theravàda
doctrine.19
46
(dragons), which was probably an ancient indigenous
tradition.
47
to expand their rule to include most of Sri Lanka
between 1017 and 1070. The great Mon city,
Dvàravatã, a Theravàda centre in southern Thailand,
fell to the Khmer, the masters of the whole of
Thailand, who were Shaivaite Hindus. In the north of
India, Muslim armies were trying to destroy what little
was left of Buddhism there. “In this perilous period,”
writes Professor Luce, “Buddhism was saved only by
such valiant fighters as Vijayabàhu in Sri Lanka and
Anawratha.”20
48
essential thing. He is sitting down on the best seat,
surely he must be the best being.” The king asked the
visitor to tell him where he came from and was told
that he came from the place where the Order lived and
that the Buddha was his teacher. Then Shin Arahan
gave the king the teaching on mindfulness
(appamàda), teaching him the same doctrine Nigrodha
had given Emperor Asoka when he was converted.
Shin Arahan then told the monarch that the Buddha
had passed into Parinibbàna, but that his teaching, the
Dhamma, enshrined in the Tipiñaka, and the twofold
Saïgha consisting of those who possessed absolute
knowledge and those who possessed conventional
knowledge, remained.
The king must have felt that he had found what had
been missing in his life and a genuine alternative to
the superficial teachings of the Ari monks. He built a
monastery for Shin Arahan, and according to some
sources, stopped all worship of the Ari monks.
Tradition has it that he had them dressed in white and
even forced them to serve as soldiers in his army. The
Ari tradition continued for a long time, however, and
49
its condemnation is a feature of much later times, and
not, as far as contemporary evidence shows, of the
Pagan era.
50
supported by the fact that earlier kings had been
followers of Buddhism in varying degrees. Caw Rahan,
who died about 94 years before Anawratha’s
accession, is said to have built a Sãma and five
Pagodas, and Kyaung Pyu Min built the white
monastery outside Pagan. Kyaung Pyu Min is believed
to have been Anawratha’s father.
51
where his teacher Shin Arahan had come from, to
request a copy of the scriptures. According to the
tradition of Myanmar, Anawratha’s request was
refused, and unable to endure another refusal he set
out with his army in the year 1057 to conquer Thaton
and acquire the Tipiñaka by force. Before conquering
Thaton, however, he had to subjugate Sri Ksetra, the
Pyu capital. From there, he took the relics enshrined in
King Dwattabaung’s Bawbaw-gyi Pagoda to Pagan.
52
Initially the fervour must have been restricted to the
king and possibly his immediate entourage, yet even
they continued to propitiate their traditional gods for
worldly gain as the new religion was considered a
higher practice. Theravàda Buddhism does not pro-
vide much in the way of rites and rituals, but a royal
court cannot do without them. So the traditional
propitiation of the Nàgas continued to be used for
court ceremonials and remained part of the popular
religion, while the bhikkhus were accorded the
greatest respect and their master, the Buddha
Gotama, was honoured with the erection of pagodas
and shrines.
53
re-establish his religion. So in 1070, he requested King
Anawratha of Myanmar, who had assisted him
financially in his war against the Colas, to send
bhikkhus to re-introduce the pure ordination into his
country.23 It is interesting to note that the Cåëavaüsa
refers to Anawratha as the king of Rama¤¤a, which
was Lower Myanmar, also called Suvaõõabhåmi. He
was approached as the conqueror and master of
Thaton, a respected Theravàda centre, rather than as
the king of Pagan, a new and unknown country. The
bhikkhus who travelled to Sri Lanka brought the
Sinhalese Tipiñaka back with them and established a
link between the two countries which was to last for
centuries.
54
age of temple building started only after his reign. It is
important to realize that his interest was not restricted
only to Pagan. He built pagodas wherever his
campaigns took him and adorned them with
illustrations from the Jàtakas and the life of the
Buddha. Some maintain that he used only Jàtakas as
themes for the adornment of his religious buildings
because that was all he possessed of the Tipiñaka. Such
a conclusion is negative and quite superficial. After all,
during Asoka’s time Jàtakas and scenes from the life of
the Buddha were used for illustrations in Bharut and
Sanchi, the great stupas near Bombay. We cannot
therefore deduce that the builders of Bharut and
Sanchi were acquainted only with the Jàtakas. These
edifying stories which teach the fundamentals of
Buddhism so skilfully are singularly suited to educate
an illiterate people beset by superstitions through the
vivid visual means of the stone reliefs depicting these
stories. It is almost unthinkable that the Mon Saïgha,
who taught Anawratha, had no knowledge of at least
all of the Vinaya. Otherwise, they would not have been
able to re-establish a valid ordination of bhikkhus in
Sri Lanka.
55
Anawratha left behind innumerable clay tablets
adorned with images of the Buddha, the king’s name,
and some Pàli and Sanskrit verses. A typical aspiration
on these tablets was: “By me, King Anawratha, this
mould of Sugata (Buddha) has been made. Through
this may I obtain the path to Nibbàna when Metteyya
is awakened.” Anawratha aspired to become a disciple
of the Buddha Metteyya, unlike many later kings of
Myanmar who aspired to Buddhahood. Is this an
indication that this warrior had remained a modest
man in spite of his empire building?
56
Chapter 4
Pagan: Flowering and Decline
57
monastery and the buildings attached to it, such as the
rest house. The villagers are very modest with regard
to their private houses and even consider it improper
to decorate them. Their monastery, however, is given
every decoration affordable.
58
building, however, the solid mound had been
hollowed out and could be entered. The central shrine
was surrounded by halls which housed stone reliefs
depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life and Jàtaka
stories. Kyanzitta’s aim was the conversion of his
people to the new faith. Whereas Anawratha had been
busy expanding his empire and bringing relics and the
holy scriptures to Pagan, Kyanzitta’s mission was to
consolidate this enterprise. Enormous religious
structures such as the Nanda Temple attracted the
populace and the interiors of the temples allowed the
bhikkhus to instruct the inquisitive in the king’s faith.
59
Buddha is shown in hundreds of other stone reliefs
on the inner walls and shrines.24
60
editing work was carried out along with visiting
Sinhalese bhikkhus.
61
reverence towards the pagoda, a symbol of the
Buddha. The ancient gods were not banished, but had
to submit to the peerless Buddha. Tradition attributes
to King Anawratha the observation: “Men will not
come for the sake of the new faith. Let them come for
their old gods, and gradually they will be won over.”
26. Cf. Than Tun, Essays on the History and Buddhism of Burma
(Arran, 1988), pp. 85ff.
62
not be forgotten that the Myanmar first started to
settle in the area of Kyauksai in the sixth century ad
and that the “man in the field” was in no way ready for
such highly developed a religion as Theravàda
Buddhism. The transition had to be gradual, and the
process that started remains still incomplete in the
minds of many people, especially in the more remote
areas of the hill country.
63
the shadow of his nephew, the crown prince, but
neither during his father’s reign nor after his death did
he ever try to usurp the throne through intrigue or by
force. He was a minister zealous in the affairs of state,
prudent and wise. He was also a scholar of the
Tipiñaka and instrumental in its review, vigorously
supporting his father in his objective to establish
Buddhism. But he is best known for his devotion to his
father in his last years when his health was failing. In
order to restore the king’s health he built five pagodas
which to this day are called Min-o-Chanda, “The
Welfare of the Old King.” When the king was on his
deathbed:
64
of dedication, calling the earth to witness. Then
Ràjakumàr enshrined the golden image, and built
around it a cave temple with a golden pinnacle.27
Later Kings
65
kings reigned for short periods and spent most of their
time and resources in power struggles. One even
succeeded in alienating the great king of Sri Lanka,
Paràkramabàhu, by mistreating his emissaries and
breaking the agreements between the two countries.
Eventually Paràkramabàhu invaded Myanmar,
devastating towns and villages and killing the king.
The new king, Narapati (1174–1210), blessed the
country with a period of peace and prosperity. This
conducive atmosphere was to allow outstanding
scholarship and learning to arise in Pagan.
66
During the twelfth century, a sect of forest dwellers
also thrived. They were called ara¤¤aka in Pàli and
were identical with the previously mentioned Ari of
the later chroniclers of Myanmar.28 This was a
monastic movement that only used the yellow robes
and the respect due to them in order to follow their
own ideas. They indulged in business transactions and
owned vast stretches of land. They gave feasts and
indulged in the consumption of liquor, and, though
they pretended to be practising the teachings of the
Buddha, their practices were probably of a tantric
nature. It would appear that they had a considerable
amount of influence at the royal court and one of the
main exponents of the movement was even given the
title of royal teacher. Superstition and magic were
gaining dominance once again and Anawratha’s and
Kyanzitta’s empire was slowly sliding into decadence.
29. The Myanmar word for Chinese to this day is teyou or tarou which is
derived from “Turk,” for the Mongols are ethnic Turks.
67
who fled the Chinese), repeatedly refused to pay
symbolic tribute to the Mongol emperors in Peking
who in 1271 had conquered neighbouring Yunnan. He
even went so far as to execute ambassadors of the
Chinese emperor and their retinue for their lack of
deference to the king. He became so bold and blinded
by ignorance that he attacked a vassal state of the
Mongols. The emperor in Peking was finally forced to
send a punitive expedition which defeated the Pagan
army north of Pagan. The news of this defeat caused
the king and his court to flee to Pathein (Bassein). As
the imperial court in Peking was not interested in
adding Pagan to its possessions, the Yunnan
expedition did not remain in the environs. When the
king was later murdered and the whole empire fell
into disarray, the Yunnani generals returned, looting
Pagan. The territories were divided amongst Shan
chiefs who paid tribute to the Mongols.
68
purest faiths mankind has ever known. Brahmanism
had strangled it in its land of birth; in Sri Lanka its
existence was threatened again and again; east of
Burma it was not yet free from priestly corruptions;
but the kings of Burma never wavered, and at Pagan
the stricken faith found a city of refuge.30
69
was beneficial to both: many a reform movement,
purifying the religion in one country spread to the
other as well. Bhikkhus visiting from one country were
led to look at their own traditions critically and to
reappraise their practice of the Dhamma as preserved
in the Pàli texts. After the fall of the main Buddhist
centres in southern India, centres which had been the
main allies of the Mon Theravadins in the south, Sri
Lanka was the only ally in the struggle for the survival
of the Theravàda tradition.
70
in order to study the scriptures in the Mahàvihàra, the
orthodox monastery of Sri Lanka and the guardian of
the Theravàda tradition. After ten years, he returned
to Pagan accompanied by four elders who had studied
with him. The Kalyàõã inscription, written about three
hundred years later, relates that Chapada considered
the tradition of the Myanmar bhikkhus impure. He had
consequently taken four bhikkhus with him because he
needed a chapter of at least five theras in order to
ordain new bhikkhus. It is possible that the Myanmar
bhikkhus, who seemed to have formed a group
separate from the Mon bhikkhus, had paid more
attention to their traditional worship than was
beneficial for their practice of the Dhamma. It is also
possible that there was an element of nationalist
rivalry between the Mon bhikkhus and the Myanmar
bhikkhus. As he showed a penchant for the reform
movement, the Myanmar king Narapati seems to have
accepted the superiority of the Mon bhikkhus, though
he did not neglect the other bhikkhus. Chapada and
his companions refused to accept the ordination of the
Myanmar bhikkhus as legitimate in accordance with
Vinaya. They established their own ordination,
71
following which the Myanmar bhikkhus sent a
delegation to Sri Lanka to receive the Mahàvihàra
ordination for themselves.
Scholarship in Pagan
72
craftsmen. It is quite likely, however, that these were
Indians from Bengal and the neighbouring states. The
type of Buddhism that had come to Pagan from India
was an esoteric religion, as some old legends indicate.
It was the jealously guarded domain of a group of
priests, who made no attempt to instruct the people
but were happy if their superiority remained unques-
tioned by a superstitious populace.
73
The principal works of the Pagan period still extant are
Pàli grammars. The most famous of these is the
Saddanãti, which Aggavaüsa completed in 1154.
Uttarajãva gave a copy of this work to the bhikkhus of
the Mahàvihàra in Sri Lanka and it “was received with
enthusiastic admiration, and declared superior to any
work of the kind written by Sinhalese scholars.” The
Saddanãti is still used to teach grammar in the
monasteries in Myanmar and has been printed many
times. B.C. Law regards it as one of the three principal
Pàli grammars along with the grammars by Kaccàyana
and Moggallàna. K.R. Norman says: “The greatest of
extant Pàli grammars is the Saddanãti, written by
Aggavaüsa from Arimaddana [Pagan] in Burma….”33
Aggavaüsa was also known as the teacher of King
Narapatisithu (1167–1202) and was given the title
Aggapaõóita. Unfortunately, no other works by this
author are known today.
74
clan name of Chapada. He was a disciple of Uttarajãva
and is credited with a great number of works, but in
the case of some it is doubtful whether he actually
composed them himself or merely introduced them
from Sri Lanka.34 His works deal not only with gram-
mar, but also with questions of monastic discipline
(Vinaya) and the Abhidhamma, which in later centu-
ries was to become a favourite subject of Myanmar
scholars. His work on Kaccàyana’s grammar, the
Suttaniddesa, formed the foundation of his fame.
However, his specialty would appear to have been the
study of Abhidhamma, as no less than four noted
works of his on the subject attained fame:
Saükhepavaõõanà, Nàmacàradãpanã, Màtikatthadãpanã,
and Paññhànagaõànaya. According to the Piñaka-
thamain, a history of Buddhism in Myanmar, he also
devoted a commentary to the Visuddhimagga by
Buddhaghosa called the Visuddhimagga-ganthi.35
34. Ven. A.P. Buddhadatta, in his Corrections to Geiger's Mahàvaüsa and
Other Papers, offers an argument that there were in fact two Chapatas
and that the one called Saddhammajotipàla, who wrote on the
Abhidhamma, probably dates from the late fifteenth century. The
Sàsanavaüsa mentions a contemporary second Chapata who was a
shameless bhikkhu.
75
There are no written records that refer to meditation
being practised in Myanmar before this century. How-
ever, his interest in the Visuddhimagga is indicative of
an interest in meditation, if only in the theory rather
than in the practice.
76
Chapter 5
Shan Rule
Upper Myanmar
77
A division of the country into Upper and Lower
Myanmar is somewhat arbitrary, as, after the fall of
Pagan, the two regions were composed of many com-
peting principalities. However, there were the two prin-
ciple kingdoms of Ava in Upper Myanmar and Pago
(Pegu) in Lower Myanmar. Hostilities between these
two prevailed, as well as with the neighbouring smaller
states including the Shan fiefs of Chiang Mai and Ayut-
thaya in Thailand. Intrigues within and between courts
were rife. Sometimes these claimed victims only within
the circle of the powerful and mighty, and sometimes
whole towns were looted and destroyed, and their pop-
ulation massacred or carried off into slavery. But, in
spite of politically unsettled conditions, the Saïgha sur-
vived, because the new rulers, initially somewhat bar-
baric, soon accepted the religion of their subjects. Just
as the Myanmar had adopted the religion and culture
of the more refined Mon, so the Shan submitted to the
sophisticated civilisation of the peoples they subju-
gated. The Shan initially established their capital at
Pinya in Upper Myanmar to the north of Pagan and
transferred it to Ava in 1312. Ava was to remain the
capital of Upper Myanmar until the eighteenth century.
78
The Sàsanavaüsa praises Thihathu, the youngest of
three Shan brothers who wrested power from the
Pagan dynasty in Upper Myanmar, as a Buddhist
king who built monasteries and pagodas. He had a
bhikkhu as his teacher and supported thousands of
bhikkhus in his capital Pinya and later Ava.
However, Pagan remained the cultural and religious
capital of the region for the whole of the fourteenth
century. Scholarly works were composed in its
monasteries throughout this period whereas no such
works are known to have been written in the new
centres of power. The works of this period of
scholarship were mostly concerned with Pàli
grammar.
79
Although the political situation remained unsettled in
Upper Myanmar throughout the fifteenth century, in
the main, this affected only those in power and their
usurpers. Consequently the Saïgha appears to have
flourished, while the traditional devotion to the
support of the Saïgha through gifts of the four
requisites remained unchanged. The royal court,
followed by the leading families, made great donations
of monasteries, land, and revenue to the bhikkhus.
80
in order not to have to engage in meaningless chatter.
Ariyavaüsa did not talk to “the Elder Water-bearer,” as
this bhikkhu was known in the Myanmar language, but
simply performed the duties of a disciple to his teacher
for two days. On the third day, the Venerable Water-
bearer spat out the water and asked Ariyavaüsa why
he was serving him. When Ariyavaüsa told him that
he wanted to learn from him, the Venerable Water-
bearer taught him the Abhidhammattha-vibhàvanã-ñãkà,
a subcommentary on the Abhidhammattha-saïgaha.
After two days, Ariyavaüsa grasped the meaning and
his teacher asked him to write a commentary on this
book in order to help others to gain understanding.
81
of grammar where he had used the wrong gender and
also a repetition, an error of style. He approached the
bhikkhu who had made the sounds during the reading
and out of gratitude for the correction gave him his
own outer robe.
82
Myanmar language and there are many poems relating
Jàtaka stories which were sung by bards throughout
the country until recently. In the Sàsanavaüsa,
however, Pa¤¤àsàmi disapproves of bhikkhus writing
or reciting poetry as he considers it to be in breach of
the Vinaya rules. He says that because of this,
Sãlavaüsa’s name was excluded from the
Theraparamparà, a listing of eminent bhikkhus of
Myanmar by ancient chroniclers.
Lower Myanmar
83
had revolted against his father and founded an inde-
pendent kingdom. Under Wareru’s rule, scholarship in
the Mon monasteries flourished and a code of law was
compiled which still forms the foundation of the legal
literature of Myanmar. The Mon bhikkhus based this
code on ancient Hindu codes of law which had found
their way into Mon tradition through Indian colonisers
and merchants.
84
disrobing, a bhikkhu forgoes the seniority he has
acquired through the years spent in robes and, in this
case, he also states that he considers his former
ordination invalid. One can imagine that such a step is
not taken lightly but only after careful consideration.
85
become disenchanted with the life of a queen and
desired to return to her native land. Dhammazedi and
a fellow Mon bhikkhu helped her to escape and
brought her back to Pago. Eventually she became
queen of Pago , but after reigning only a few years she
wished to retire and do works of merit. She found that
the only people worthy of the throne of Pago were her
teachers, the two bhikkhus. She let fate decide which
would be the future king by concealing miniature
imitations of the regalia in one of the two bowls in
which she offered them their daily alms food.
86
connected with a collection of wise judgements and
the translation of Wareru’s Code of Law into the
vernacular. In 1472, Dhammazedi sent a mission to
Bodhgaya to repair the temple and make plans and
drawings of it.
87
be invalid. Therefore, how can the religion, which is
based on such invalid ordination, last to the end of
5000 years? Reverend Sirs, from the establishment
of the religion in the island of Sri Lanka up to this
present day, there has been existing in this island an
exceedingly pure sect of bhikkhus…. Receive at
their hands the upasampadà ordination… and if you
make this form of the upasampadà ordination the
seed of the religion, as it were, plant it, and cause it
to sprout forth by conferring such ordination on
men of good family in this Mon country…. Reverend
Sirs, by your going to the island of Sri Lanka, much
merit and great advantage will accrue to you.38
88
smooth, however. One group arrived home in
August 1476, while the other group took three years
to return to Pago and ten of the bhikkhus died
en route. Following their return, Dhammazedi had a
pure ordination hall (sãmà) consecrated and made
the following proclamation:
89
senior bhikkhus. Since those returning from Sri Lanka
had been ordained for a period of only three years,
they could not act as preceptor or teacher. Local
bhikkhus who had not received the ordination of the
Mahàvihàra in Sri Lanka were unacceptable, as
otherwise the ordination would again have been
invalidated by one who was not of pure descent.
Fortunately, the two theras who had undertaken a
pilgrimage to Sri Lanka at the beginning of the century
and had received the Sinhalese ordination at that time,
were still alive. As a result, one was able to act as
preceptor and the other as teacher of the newly
ordained bhikkhus. The stage was now set for the
reformation and unification of the Mon Order of
bhikkhus and soon the re-ordination of almost the
entire Order of bhikkhus began. The Kalyàõã
inscription records the number of 15,666 ordinations
in hundreds of ordination halls newly constructed for
the purpose.
90
bhikkhus who were, for example, practising medicine
or other arts and crafts or who even slightly infringed
on the Vinaya rules would be expelled. The king as a
layman, however, did not have the power to defrock a
bhikkhu who had not broken one of the four Pàràjika
rules.40 Dhammazedi circumvented this by threatening
to punish with royal penalties the mother, father,
relatives, and lay supporters of bhikkhus whose
behaviour was not in accordance with the rules of the
Vinaya.
91
implemented with their blessings. There being no such
thing as a Buddhist Church with a central authority,
the Saïgha has little possibility to regulate itself. Only
the committed support of a worldly power can protect
the Order of bhikkhus from those who take advantage
of the respect that is given to the yellow robe.
92
Chapter 6
The Myanmar Build an Empire
93
prevailing, some respected treatises on Pàli grammar
were written in Upper Myanmar in these years.
94
Bayinnaung not only unified the country politically,
but also made Buddhist principles the standard for his
entire dominion. He forbade the sacrificial slaughter of
animals, a custom still practised by the Shan chiefs,
the worshippers of certain spirits, and the followers of
some other religions. He built pagodas and
monasteries in all the newly conquered lands and
installed learned bhikkhus in order to convert the
often uncivilised inhabitants to gentler ways. The main
religious building of his reign is the Mahàzedi Pagoda,
a majestic monument to the Buddha in the capital,
Pago. He also crowned the main pagodas in Myanmar
with the jewels of his own crown, a custom practised
by many rulers of the country. He continued in the
tradition of Dhammazedi, in supporting the Sihala
Saïgha and in sponsoring the ordination of many
bhikkhus in the Kalyàõã Ordination Hall near Pago. It
is said that he built as many monasteries as there were
years in his life.
95
campaign after campaign to expand his realm. He
caused bloodshed and suffering in the conquered
regions and at home people starved because farmers
were drafted into the army. However this may be,
Bayinnaung seems to have been able to reconcile
fighting expansionist wars with being a pious
Buddhist.
96
over whether or not bhikkhus could partake of the
juice of the toddy palm which was generally used to
prepare fermented drink. The dispute was settled by a
respected thera who decided that toddy juice was
permissible only if it was freshly harvested.
97
There was, however, one element in the policy of
rulers which, with a few exceptions, remained fairly
stable throughout Myanmar history. Most kings
supported Buddhism and the Saïgha provided a
framework of continuity as no other entity could. Ray
writes:
98
affairs of state. This is illustrated by an event which
occurred in the middle of the seventeenth century and
is related by the Sàsanavaüsa.
99
mettà (loving kindness) and karuõà (compassion) and
sometimes their efforts achieved success.
100
monarch. An armistice agreed by or in the presence of
bhikkhus was more likely to be honoured than a
promise given without their blessings. Therefore, if the
two parties were sincere in their offers to negotiate,
they usually requested bhikkhus to be mediators and
judges.
101
five, only the Kaïkhàvitaraõã, Buddhaghosa’s com-
mentary on the Pàtimokkha, is not concerned with
Abhidhamma. In the second half of the century Agga-
dhammàlaïkarà translated Kaccàyana’s Pàli grammar,
the Abhidhammaññhasangaha, Màtikà, Dhàtukathà,
Yamaka, and the Paññhàna into the Myanmar tongue.
Later, the Nettippakaraõa was also translated.
102
addition a number of the Abhidhamma texts had to be
committed to memory.
103
This emphasis on Abhidhamma in general and the
Paññhàna in particular has survived in Myanmar to the
present day. The movement, therefore, that began in
the seventeenth century is still of great significance for
Buddhism there. The Paññhàna, for instance, is
ubiquitous in Myanmar. The twenty-four conditions of
the Paññhàna can be found printed on the fans of the
bhikkhus, on calendars, and on posters. In some
monasteries, the bhikkhus are woken every morning
by twenty-four strokes on a hollow tree trunk, while
the bhikkhu striking the tree trunk has to recite the
twenty-four conditions as he does so. Even little
children learn to recite the twenty-four conditions
along with the suttas of protection. As the Paññhàna is
the highest and most difficult teaching of the Buddha,
it is believed that it will be the first to be lost. In order
to slow the decline of the Sàsana, many people of
Myanmar, bhikkhus and lay people alike, memorize
the Paññhàna and recite it daily.
104
Vinaya were foremost on the agenda. Dhammazedi’s
reform movement drew the attention back to the
foundations of all monastic life, the code of conduct
for the bhikkhus as laid down by the Buddha himself.
105
had been enriched with Pàli terms so that it could
convey the difficult concepts of Abhidhamma.
Civilisation had matured to an extent never seen
before. Myanmar was ready to study the analysis of
mind and matter as taught by the Buddha. The stage
was being set for the widespread practice of insight
meditation (vipassanà bhàvanà) in later times.
106
Chapter 7
The Eighteenth and
Nineteenth Centuries
107
Like Bayinnaung, Alaungpaya established a Myanmar
empire, at the same time decimating the population of
the country by drafting the peasantry into the army for
campaigns against Ayutthaya (Thailand) and other
countries. The Sàsanavaüsa does not comment on the
atrocity of war. War is perceived as it is, cruel and
pitiless — but it is the affair of rulers, not of bhikkhus.
The manner in which rulers conduct their affairs is
entirely their responsibility. Pa¤¤àsàmi probably took
very seriously the Buddha’s injunction that a member
of the Saïgha should not talk about rulers and royal
affairs.
108
their practice through the authority of the scriptures.
Different kings endorsed one or other of the two
opinions and bhikkhus of the orthodox school even
died for their conviction when a king had outlawed the
covering of both shoulders.
109
Myanmar in co-operation with the Saïgharàjas43 and
the other senior bhikkhus had established a system of
supervision of the bhikkhus by royal officials. In every
township, the king’s representatives were responsible
for ensuring that the bhikkhus adhered scrupulously to
the rules of the Vinaya. Bhikkhus who transgressed
were taken before religious courts and punished
according to the code of discipline.
43. Saïgharàja is a position created by the king. The holder of the title is
appointed by the monarch. It is the highest position as far as influence
at the court is concerned as the king will consult the Saïgharàja in
most religious matters. The Saïgharàja was usually assisted in his
duty by a body (similar to a cabinet) of other senior bhikkhus also
chosen by the monarch.
110
Thudhamma sect has survived in Myanmar down to
the present day.
111
a commentary on Buddhaghosa’s Jàtakaññhakathà and
several other treatises.44
44. For more information on his work, see Bode, Pàli Literature of Burma,
pp. 79–82.
112
The Amarapura Nikàya in Sri Lanka
113
reforms lived on through the ordination conferred to
Thai bhikkhus in Pago and through the scores of Mon
bhikkhus who had found refuge in Thailand from the
Myanmar armies.
114
On returning to Sri Lanka, they were accompanied by
five Myanmar bhikkhus and a letter from ¥àõa-
bhivaüsa to the Sinhalese Saïgharàja. Five bhikkhus
form a full chapter and apparently the Myanmar
bhikkhus were permitted to ordain bhikkhus without
class distinction. Even today, Sri Lanka possesses three
schools, the Amarapura Nikàya, the Siyama Nikàya
(Thai school), and the Rama¤¤a Nikàya.
115
and ordained only novices of the higher castes as
bhikkhus. Missions from Sri Lanka continued to travel
to Amarapura to consult with its senior theras and they
were all given royal patronage and sent back with gifts
of the Pàli scriptures and commentarial texts.
116
Merit.” This form of address was to be reserved for the
king. Then again he tried to confiscate land and other
goods given to the Saïgha and to pagodas by previous
generations. When the Saïgharàjas could not answer
his questions to his satisfaction, he invited the Muslim
clergy for a meal to test their faith. He had heard that
they were so strict in the observance of their discipline
that they would rather die than eat pork. Unfortunately
for them, they did not display great heroism as they all
ate the pork offered to them by the king. Bodawpaya is
also reputed to have been beset by a form of megalo-
mania. He wanted to force the Saïgha to confirm
officially that he was the Bodhisatta of the next Buddha
to come in this world cycle, the Buddha Metteyya. On
this issue, however, the Saïgha was not to be bent even
in the face of royal wrath. The bhikkhus refused, and
the king was finally forced to accept defeat. Another
expression of his inflated self-esteem was the Mingun
Pagoda near Sagaing. It was to be by far the biggest
temple ever built. Scores of slaves and labourers
worked on its construction until funds were depleted.
However, it was never completed and remains today as
a huge shapeless square of millions of bricks.
117
To his credit, King Bodawpaya imposed the morality of
the Five Precepts in his whole realm and had offenders
executed immediately. Capital punishment was pre-
scribed for selling and drinking alcohol, killing larger
animals such as buffaloes, spreading heretical views,
and the smoking of opium. Bodawpaya ruled the
country with an iron fist and brought offending lay
people as well as bhikkhus to heel. His successors were
benevolent, but possibly they could be so only because
of the fear his rule had instilled in the populace.
118
dom of Ava in 1824 (Bagyidaw had moved the capital
back to Ava). It came to a battle near the coast in
which the Myanmar general Mahàbandhula achieved
little or nothing against modern British arms. The
Indian colonial government occupied all of the
Myanmar coast as far south as Tenasserim in 1826 and
forced the treaty of Yandabo on King Bagyidaw. In the
treaty, he was forced to accept the new borders estab-
lished by the Indian government and pay compensa-
tion to the invaders for the annexation of the coast of
Lower Myanmar.
119
the pure tradition from teacher to pupil. Its purpose
was to praise the diligent theras and expose the
shameless ones.
120
cept of mental property or copyright had not been
born and there was no moral need to refer the reader
to sources except to give authority to a statement. The
only references that would lend authority to a treatise
would be the scriptures, their commentaries, and sub-
commentaries, but not a work as recent as the
Thathana-wuntha-lin-ga-ya-kyan.
121
support their point of view. This was to be made
impossible once and for all.
Tharrawaddy-Min
122
the Saïgharàja ¥eyyadhammabhivaüsa. ¥eyyadhamma
instructed the two bhikkhus and the accompanying
novice in the teachings and conferred the bhikkhu
ordination on the novice. He is known for his critical
emendation of the text of the Saddhammapajjotikà and
its translation into Myanmar. He was also the teacher
of the later Saïgharàja Pa¤¤àsàmi, the compiler of the
Sàsanavaüsa and one of the most influential theras at
the time of King Mindon. ¥eyyadhamma showed the
need for a recension of at least some of the Pàli texts
by editing the Saddhammapajjotikà. His disciple,
Pa¤¤àsàmi, was to preside over the recension of the
entire Tipiñaka as Saïgharàja under King Mindon.
Pagan-Min
Tharrawaddy-Min was himself deposed because of
insanity by his son Pagan-Min (1846–52), the brother of
Mindon-Min. Pagan-Min appointed Pa¤¤àjotàbhidhaja
as his Saïgharàja. In his tenure, scholarship received
encouragement as the Saïgharàja himself wrote a
commentary and its sub-commentary in Myanmar on
the Aïguttara Nikàya. Other works of the time, all in
123
the vernacular, are a translation of the Saddhamma-
vilàsinã and commentaries on the Saüyutta Nikàya and
the Dãgha Nikàya. This is also the time when the
author of the Sàsanavaüsa appears. He started his
scholarly career with the translation into Myanmar of
a commentary on the Saddatthabhedacintà. His next
work was a comparison of the existing versions of the
Abhidhànappadãpikà and the translation of his
emended text.
124
and sub-commentaries on Suttanta, Abhidhamma, and
the Vinaya were composed in it. This not only made it
easier for bhikkhus with limited linguistic skills to
study the texts, but also made them readily accessible
to the laity. That people in a peaceful country have
more time for the study of religion is obvious and soon
Myanmar would see the first Buddhist texts printed on
modern printing presses. This made it possible for a
great number of people to acquire texts relatively
cheaply without having to pay a scribe to copy them
laboriously onto palm leaves.
125
The Colonial Administration and the Saïgha
The occupation by the British forces was of utmost sig-
nificance for the Saïgha as the British administration
did not grant the traditional protection afforded it by a
Buddhist ruler. In accordance with the colonial policy
established in India, that the colonial government
should be strictly secular, the new lords refused to take
on the role of a Buddhist monarch and accept respon-
sibility for the enforcing of the bhikkhus’ discipline.
Without this, Buddhism in Lower Myanmar soon suf-
fered and offending bhikkhus went unpunished. The
colonial administration would recognise its mistake
only much later, when it was too late, and when they
were not able to establish control in the Saïgha any
longer.48
48. In the political struggle for independence the bhikkhus of Myanmar
played a significant role. Political activity is, of course, not normally
admissible for a bhikkhu. However, as the British administration had
failed to fulfil its duties towards Buddhism and the religion was in
decline, the bhikkhus felt they had to oppose the government in order
to save their culture. When the government suddenly wanted to
re-establish authority to keep the bhikkhus in their monasteries, their
effort lacked credibility and authority and was not heeded. The
colonial government had to resort to imprisoning bhikkhus in
ordinary civilian prisons, but it was too late to break the movement of
civil disobedience of the young activists, including the bhikkhus.
126
King Mindon
127
the more impressive: “Doubtless one of the most
enlightened monarchs that has ever sat on the
Burmese throne.50 He is polished in his manner, has
considerable knowledge of the affairs of state and the
history and the statistics of his own and other
countries. In personal character he is amiable and kind
and, according to his light, religious.”51
128
Mindon found that the attitude of many members of
the Saïgha to their code of conduct was exceedingly
lax. He therefore wanted all bhikkhus of his dominions
to take a vow of obedience to the Vinaya rules in front
of a Buddha image. He consulted the Saïgharàja who
convened an assembly of mahàtheras, the
Thudhamma Council. As opinions regarding the vow
differed, the primate’s disciple, Pa¤¤àsàmi, had to
deliver a religious address in support of the king’s
views. He reasoned that vows were also taken by the
bhikkhus at the time of ordination and that if the king
sincerely desired to improve the discipline in the
Order, he should be supported. All agreed, and the
vow was prescribed.
129
would not be able to stand up to the might of the
Indian colonial government. Therefore, it was not only
important to support religious activities in the
occupied territories but it was also essential to prepare
the religion for the time when it would have to survive
without the support of a Buddhist monarch.
130
King Mindon, aware of this situation, tried to convince
bhikkhus to return to Lower Myanmar in order to
serve their people. The king’s efforts proved successful
and many bhikkhus returned to their places of origin.
But soon it became clear that without the king’s
ecclesiastic officials to control the discipline of the
Saïgha, many bhikkhus developed a careless attitude
towards their code of discipline.
131
been lost. In addition to this, however, his movement
also challenged the authority of the king’s Council of
Sayadaws, the leaders of the unified Thudhamma sect,
when he declared their ordination was invalid due to a
technicality. As a result, he took the higher ordination
anew together with his followers.
132
prove that he had practised meditation before he
would ordain him. All the bhikkhus around him had to
spend a period of the day in meditation and he
emphasised that meditation was of much greater
importance than learning. He advised lay people to
stop making offerings of flowers, fruits, and candles to
Buddha images, but to meditate regularly on the
Uposatha days. Of course, his instructions that
offerings to Buddha images were fruitless and merely
dirtied the places of worship, caused considerable
unhappiness with the traditional Thudhamma Council
and presumably with many ordinary people. However,
the Ngettwin Sayadaw never strove to form a different
sect by holding a separate ordination as did the Okpo
Sayadaw. His reforms were within the community and
within a Buddhist society that was presided over by a
king. The Okpo Sayadaw had no place for royalty in
his view of the world and did not hesitate to confront
the system that was still alive, though obviously
doomed.
133
Thingazar Sayadaw. The Shwegyin Sayadawalso tried
to reform the Saïgha and his movement is still very
much alive and highly respected in Myanmar today.
He had studied under the Okpo Sayadaw, but when he
returned to his native Shwegyin near Shwebo in Upper
Myanmar, he avoided controversy in never rebelling
against the Thudhamma Council. He introduced two
new rules for his bhikkhus, that they must not chew
betel and consume tobacco after noon. He also
maintained that the Saïgha must regulate itself
without help from the authority, but he never doubted
the validity of the traditional ordination ceremony.
134
the purest of conduct in accordance with the Vinaya.
However, he did not involve himself in disputes with
the extreme reformers or the Thudhamma council. He
became very popular through the humorous tales he
told in sermons preached in his frequent travels up and
down the country.52
135
allow the Saïgha to split into factions that were
openly opposing each other. This he achieved to some
extent through careful diplomacy and through the call-
ing of a great Synod, a Saïgàyana, in the royal city of
Mandalay.
136
recited and the correct form was established from
among any variant readings. The task took more than
three years to accomplish, from 1868 to 1871. When
the bhikkhus had completed their great project, the
king had all of the Buddhist scriptures, the Tipiñaka,
engraved on 729 marble slabs. The slabs were then
housed each in a separate small pagoda about three
meters high with a roof to protect the inscriptions from
the elements. The small shrines were built around a
central pagoda, the Kutho-daw Pagoda, the Pagoda of
the Noble Merit. To commemorate the great council,
King Mindon crowned the Shwedagon Pagoda in
Yangon with a new Hti or spire.
137
Shwedagon, the crowning was a symbol of the
religious unity of Myanmar which persisted in spite of
the British occupation. The religion was also later to
become the rallying point for the Myanmar
nationalists who fought for independence from the
colonisers.
138
to assess. It is interesting to note that a majority of his
works were composed in Pàli, which was no doubt an
attempt to encourage bhikkhus not to forgo Pàli
scholarship now that Myanmar translations were
readily available. The calling of a great Buddhist
council to purify the scriptures was part of this
movement towards the revival of the study of the
original texts.
139
darkness. The worship of the Buddha that is thought to
have resulted from these visits and from the arrival of
the hair relics, may have been merely part of a nature
religion. The pure religion could not endure for long in
a country which was yet on the brink of civilisation.
Later, however, the teachings of the Buddha were
brought repeatedly to those lands by various people.
140
someone always appeared to correct the teachings
with the help of the mainstays of the Sàsana abroad.
Gradually the role was reversed: instead of travelling
abroad for advice, the bhikkhus of Myanmar became
the guardians of Theravàda Buddhist teaching and
their authority was respected by all. Eventually, when
Theravàda Buddhism had long been lost to India and
its future was uncertain in Sri Lanka, it found a secure
home in Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar.
141
Select Bibliography
Original Sources
142
Secondary Sources
143
Halliday, R.S. The Talaings. Rangoon 1917.
144
Thomas, E.J. The Life of the Buddha As History and
Legend. London 1949.
Periodicals
Epigraphia Birmanica.
145
The Buddhist Publication Society
146
The Hony. Secretary
Buddhist Publication Society
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha
Kandy
Sri Lanka
or
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/bps/
wheels/wheel399.html